Free Harbinger by Cyndi Friberg Page A

and she smiled in response to Haven’s greeting. Her face looked unusually pale and purple circles shadowed her golden eyes, but she jumped up from the sofa and ran to Haven. “I am so glad to see you!”
    They hugged, then Haven eased her back and looked at her again. “You look terrible. Haven’t you been sleeping?”
    Berlynn shook her head, avoiding Haven’s gaze. “Everything happened so fast. I just went numb. Now it’s starting to hit me and I…”
    Haven wrapped Berlynn in a maternal embrace, glad she finally felt safe enough to let go. Berlynn’s sobs were mostly silent, yet hard enough to shake her delicate frame. “Cry it out, baby. Holding it in just makes it worse.” She’d need to take her own advice eventually. Like Berlynn, Haven had been numbed by the suddenness of Vinton’s passing, but she had no doubt grief, and guilt, would eventually burst through the protective detachment and demand some form of release. But her mourning would have to wait. Right now she needed to be strong for Berlynn.
    Long moments later, Berlynn raised her tearstained face. Her lips trembled and misery swam in her eyes. “I can’t get that image out of my mind.”
    Haven gasped, horrified by the implication. “You saw it happen?” Berlynn only nodded, so Haven gave her another hug. “I’m so sorry, Berlynn. Danvier said you were there, but I had no idea you watched…” Guilt compressed Haven’s chest, making it hard to breathe. If she’d taken time to think through possible ramifications before trusting one of Javin’s agents with her message—she pinched off the thought. Analyzing what should or shouldn’t have happened was a waste of time. In a moment of weakness, she’d made a horrible decision and her brother had paid the ultimate price. The truth would come out eventually, it always did. Still, she wasn’t in a hurry to compound everyone’s grief with anger and disappointment.
    Berlynn stepped back and motioned toward the sofa. “Let’s sit down and talk about something else. I’m tired of crying.”
    Haven was happy to oblige her. Thoughts of Vinton were still too painful and she wanted to lighten Berlynn’s mood not reveal her own misery. They walked around to the front of the sofa and Berlynn returned to her place in the far corner. Haven sat more or less facing her then prompted, “Ulrik said you were in a snit. What was he talking about?”
    “Uncle Ulrik has lost his mind.” She emphasized the claim with an agitated hand gesture. “Not that his personality was ever very stable.”
    Managing Ulrik’s fits of temper had always been a challenge, but Haven had been doing so all her life. “Did something specific trigger his break from reality?”
    “He wants to turn in the Nox brothers and collect the bounty.” Berlynn shook her head, clearly disagreeing with the concept. “I told him the idea was ridiculous. If the battle born don’t kill him, the crown stirate will. We’re fugitives, for creation’s sake. But he won’t listen to reason. He’s convinced the reward would be worth the risk.”
    “I’ll talk to him, help him see the error of his thinking.”
    Berlynn scoffed, a surprisingly bitter sound. Apparently, her patience had been stretched to its limits by Ulrik’s ill-conceived plan. “Good luck with that. I don’t know how you do it. After arguing off and on all day, I finally just had to walk away.”
    “That’s always a good strategy with him. He’s completely irrational when he’s riled.” Berlynn muttered something under her breath, but Haven didn’t quite catch it. “So tell me about the negotiations. Did the battle born approach Tandori Tribe or was it the other way around?”
    “Dad made first contact, but he wasn’t there to form an alliance.” Sadness thickened Berlynn’s tone, though she managed to hold back her tears.
    “How did your dad make contact and what did he want if not an alliance?”
    Berlynn wiped her wet cheeks with her sleeve and